JOIN USSouth Africa end Indian dream
So near, yet so very far. This was the story for the India women in the hockey Olympic Qualifiers.
Huffing and puffing, they did manage to reach the final, but they stumbled against a resolute South Africa, who once again proved to be a far too superior opponentin the final.
Under glowing floodlights, the Proteas’s 3-1 victory deservingly got them an Olympic berth, but dimmed the prospects of women’s hockey in India. Under the shards of anonymity for years, this was the best chance for the Indian women to grab the eyeballs. Home turf, familiar conditions and an enthusiastic crowd spurred them on. It was not enough, though.
There is no arguing that the Indian ladies played out of their skins. Ironically, it was the best they played in the tournament. Their short-passing was taut, the pace relatively faster, and they had greater ball possession. But they were against a side which was not only physically and tactically better, but also desperate to prove a point back home.
Forced by their Olympic committee to play the qualifiers here despite having won the qualifying tournament in Africa, the South Africans had the fire and will to turn the match in their favour.
Their confidence was high after their 5-2 battering of the Indians in the league match, and they began in earnest in the final, by closing the gaps with their tight marking. |
Despite that India, who last played in the Olympics in 1980, opened up several crafty, heart-stopping moves, only to be swiftly intercepted by agile Protean defenders.
The match was virtually over in the first half, with the South Africans taking a 2-0 lead by half time. A defensive blunder by Ritu Rani allowed Shelley Russell to enter the circle and she swiftly went around a bewildered Sushila Chanu to the left of the goal post before pushing the ball in, in the fourth minute.
The Indians toiled hard to recover from the setback. They got a penalty corner in the 10th minute but wasted it. The South Africans, through some aggressive pressing, got three penalty corners in six minutes. They frittered the first two but off their third attempt, veteran Pietie Coetzee sounded the board with a firm strike to the right in the 30th minute.
India had an excellent chance to score from Anuradha Devi, who darted from the left but faltered at the finish.
The second half was exciting. The home crowd raised its decibel levels and the team its game, but to little effect. In the 53rd minute, South Africa extended their lead through their fifth penalty corner. Coetzee once again took the strike and skipper Marsha Marescia deflected it to hush the crowd.
Jaspreet Kuar provided some joy by converting India’s second penalty corner in the 57th minute. The Indian girls tried hard but a miracle was beyond them. The hooter sparked unbounded celebrations among the South Africans. The Indian girls, moist eyed, made a ponderous exit.